Wall cabinet hanger bar



P 1950 J. STANITZ 2,521,134

WALL CABINET HANGER BAR Filed July 17, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 711g 7 v gvwe/wfm Jacyuey Sta/2w W M wag-4 Sept. 5, 1950 J. STANITZ 2,521,134

WALL CABINET HANGER BAR Filed July 17, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Jaeques Swizz @4/ Patented Sept. 5, 1950 UNI TED STATES Y PATENT OFFICE WALL CABINET HANGERBAR Jacques. Stamitz, Warren, Ohio, assignor to Mullins Manufacturing Corporation, Salem, 011710,. a corporation. of New York Application July 17, 1945', Serial No. 605,582

2 Claims. 1

The invention relates generally to wall cabinets which are adapted to be mounted in rows on the walls of a kitchen and the like, and more particularly, to hanger means for mounting adjoining cabinets in horizontal alignment.

It is very important, in a modern kitchen or pantry, that wall cabinets be arranged in rows which are in strict horizontal alignment; otherwise the whole appearance of the room is marred and is very unsightly. In the past, it has been the practice to ship with each wall cabinet a short hanger bar having a length substantially less than the cabinet width.

In mounting a row of such cabinets, the individual short hanger bars were longitudinally spaced in a horizontal line, with the centers of the bars located at the center line of the respective cabinets. In this position, the bars were attempted to be leveled, which obviously resulted in getting the bars out of horizontal alignmentwith each other, and consequently, the tops and bottoms of adjoining cabinets were not horizontally aligned and adjacent cabinets were not truly parallel. Thus, the installation presented an unsightly appearance.

It has been proposed to use a long continuous hanger bar in order to overcome these disadvantages, but such bar was objectionable and impracticable not only from a manuiacturing and shipping standpoint, but produced waste and excessive cost as a result of cutting such a long bar on the job to fit irregular or short walls. Moreover, the continuous hanger flange of the bar also required notching on the job to permit the side flanges of adjoining cabinets to fit up closely to the wall.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved hanger bar construction which will overcome all of the foregoing disadvantages of prior constructions.

A more specific object is to provide an improved hanger bar having self-aligning means for maintaining horizontal alignment of adjoining hanger bars as they are installed.

Another object is to provide an improved hanger bar which preferably has a length equal to the width of a standard cabinet, and improved means at its ends for interlocking with adjoining hanger bars.

A further object is to provide an improved hanger bar which is adapted to permit the side flanges of adjoining cabinet to fit closely to the wall.

Another object is to provide an improved hanger bar which is adapted to support a wall 2 cabinet of standardwidth, and which may be used with adjoining hanger bars for hanging cabinets having standard widths which are at variance with the length of the bar.

Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved hanger bar which accompiishes all of the foregoing objectives, which is inexpensiveto manufacture and ship, and which is easily and cheaply installed by inexperienced workmen for mounting wall cabinets in strict horizontal alignment.

These and other objects and advantages apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description and claims, may be obtained, 5

and the described difficulties overcome, by the devices, elements, constructions, combinations and arrangements which comprise the present invention, the nature of which is set forth in the following general statement, a preferred embodiment of which is set forth in the following description and shown in the accompanying drawings, and which is particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended cl'aims forming part hereof.

By way of example, a preferred embodiment of the present improvements in wall cabinet hanger bar construction is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein:

Figure l is a fragmentary perspective View showing several of the improved hanger bars mounted in alignment on a wall, the position of a wall cabinet supported on one of the bars being indicated in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational View, with a part broken away, of the improved hanger bar;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation thereof;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view as on line 44, Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view as on line 5-5, Fig. 6, showing two of the improved adjoining hanger bars mounted on a wall, and portions of two adjoining cabinets supported thereon; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view as on line 6-6, Fig. 5.

Similar numerals refer to throughout the drawings.

Referring first to Figs. 2 and 3, the improved hanger indicated generally at 1 is preferably made from a thin strip of metal, and is provided at one end 8 with a projecting tongue 9, and at the other end it with a notch or rectangular socket H, the ends 8 and Ill being cut at right angles to the length of the bar. The tongues 9 similar parts and rectangular sockets ll having a complementary shape and the dimensions of the socket- II are such as to receive a tongue 9 on an adjoining bar with a close sliding fit, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 5, so that adjoining bars 1 will be thereby maintained in accurate longitudinal alignment.

The bars 1 each preferably include a flat securing portion or flange la provided with a plurality of staggered screw holes 12 for attaching the bars to a wall by means of screws l3, and the length of each bar '1 from the end H] to the end 8 is preferably equal to the width between side walls of a standard size cabinet, one im proved hanger bar being provided for each cabinet. Accordingly, when the bars 1 are mounted in alignment on a wall as in Figs. 1 and 5, adjoining cabinets, having standard widths equal to the lengths of the respective bars, will have their side walls or flanges M in abutment with each other at the cabinet joints and at the joints between the adjoining hanger bars.

As shown, the hanger bars are provided with longitudinally spaced hanger flanges or cars l5 which project outwardly and upwardly at a slight angle from the top edge of the flat securing portion 1a of the bar for supporting wall cabinets thereon. The end hanger flanges or ears l5 are spaced from the ends 3 and ll] of the hanger bar to form notches l1 and 18 so that the side flanges M of adjoining cabinets can fit within or extend through the notches l1 and I8 up against the flat portion la of the bar, and thus lie closely along the surface of the wall W as best indicated in Fig. 6.

The hanger flanges [5 are spaced at longitudinal intervals which are equal to the amount of increased width between one standard size wall cabinet and the next standard size, so that, if desired, the sizes of adjoining Wall cabinets supported on the adjoining hanger bars may be varied and the adjoining side flanges of the cabinets will always be located in one of the notches I9 between the hanger flanges i5.

As best shown in Fig. 6, the hanger flanges are connected to the securing portion 1a by means of horizontally alined shoulders 20 adapted to receive and support the downturned flanges 2| and 22 provided at the top rear corner of a wall cabinet indicated generally at 23. As shown the back panel portion 24 of the cabinet 23 is preferably formed into an exterior recess 25 having an inclined bottom wall 25', a vertical wall 21, and a top wall 28 on which the flange 2| is formed. The top panel portion 29 of the cabinet 23 Ipreferably has the flange 22 formed thereon and turned downwardly to lie closely adjacent to the flange 2|.

Thus, the longitudinally horizontally aligned shoulders 20 will support a wall cabinet 23 in horizontal alignment, provided the hanger bar is positioned on the wall in true horizontal alignment.

In installing the improved hanger bars I for supporting rows of wall cabinets in true horizontal alignment, the first bar I is positioned at the desired height from the floor, and is properly leveled to be accurately horizontal and then secured in that position to a wall W by means of the screws [3.

The adjoining hanger bars 7 are then positioned at each end of said first bar and the tongues 9 entered into the sockets ll so that the ends 8 and l 0 of the adjoining bars are-tightly abutted with each other. Due to the close sliding fit between the top and bottom edges of the tongues 9 and their receiving sockets l I, and also to the abutment between the bar ends 8 and I0 which are cut vertically, all the adjoining bars will be interlocked in accurate alignment, and since the first bar has been leveled to be accurately horizontal, all of the bars will be in true horizontal alignment and all supporting shoulders 20 will be in aligned level horizontal position. Consequently, when a row of adjoining cabinets are supported or hung on the horizontally aligned bars, with the cabinet flanges 2l22 engaged over the ears l5 and supported on the support shoulders 20, the cabinets will be in true horizontal alignment and will present a neat and pleasing appearance.

Preferably, the tongues 9 are made so that they can be broken off flush with the bar end 8, in order that when the end 8 of a hanger bar is at the end of a row, the tongue will not project beyond the cabinet supported on that particular bar. For this purpose, the tongue 9 may be scored or grooved as at 30 to facilitate breaking off the tongue flush with the bar end 8.

The improved hanger bar is inexpensive to manufacture and simple to use and install by inexperienced workmen for mounting wall cabinets in strict horizontal alignment. Moreover, the improved hanger bar is easily and conveniently shipped with a standard size cabinet, because it has a length equal to the cabinet width, and the improved interlocking means at the ends of the hanger bar insure accurate alignment of a plurality of adjoining bars.

Furthermore, the improved hanger bar overcomes the disadvantages of prior constructions, and permits the side flanges of adjoining cabinets to fit closely to the wall on which they are supported.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding; but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because such terms are utilized for descriptive purposes herein and not for the purposes of limitations, and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the embodiment of the improved construction illustrated and described is by Way of example, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the exact details of construction of the various parts.

Having now described the features of the invention, the construction, operation and use of a preferred embodiment thereof, and the advantageous, new and useful results obtained thereby; the new and useful devices, construetions, arrangements, combinations, parts and elements, and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious to those skilled in the art, are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Wall cabinet mounting construction for accurately mounting in horizontal alignment on a wall a plurality of wall cabinets having abutting side walls at the joints between adjacent cabinets; each cabinet having a downturned flange at the top rear corner thereof; a hanger bar for each cabinet having a length equal to the width between the side walls of its respective cabinet; each hanger bar having a fiat securing portion for attachment to a wall; longitudinally spaced ears projecting outwardly, angularly, upwardly from the top edge of each hanger bar; the ear adjacent each end of each hanger bar being spaced from said end to provide a notch thereat; each ear being connected to said se curing portion by a supporting shoulder; the supporting shoulders b e in g longitudinally aligned; the ends of each hanger bar being formed to extend at right angles to the length thereof; there being a rectangular socket formed in one end of each hanger bar; a tongue having a shape complementary to said socket projecting from the other end of each hanger bar; said hanger bars being assembled together with one right-angled end of one bar in abutment with the other right-angled end of the next adjacent bar, and with the tongue at one end of one bar interlocked in the socket in the end of the next adjacent bar; whereby when one hanger bar is mounted on a wall with its longitudinally aligned supporting shoulders in level, horizontal position, the aligned supporting shoulders on each remaining assembled hanger bar are maintained in accurate horizontal alignment with the aligned shoulders of said one hanger bar; and the down turned flanges at the tops of each cabinet being engaged over the hanger bar ears and supported on said supporting shoulders with abutting cabinet side walls at the joints between adjacent cabinets extending through the notches at the ends of adjacent hanger bars; whereby the wall cabinets are mounted in accurate horizontal alignment. 7

2. A hanger bar construction for accurately mounting in horizontal alignment on a wall a plurality of wall cabinets each provided with a downturned flange at the top rear corner thereof and having abutting side walls at the joints between adjacent cabinets; the hanger bar construction including a hanger bar section for each cabinet having a length equal to the width between the side walls of its respective cabinet; each bar section having a flat securing portion for attachment to a wall; longitudinally spaced ears projecting outwardly, angularly, upwardly from the top edge of each bar section; the ear adjacent each end of each bar section being spaced from said end to provide a notch thereat; each ear being connected to said securing portion by a supporting shoulder; the supporting shoulders being longitudinally aligned; the ends of each bar section being formed to extend at right angles to the length thereof; there being a rectangular socket formed in one end of each bar section; a tongue having a shape complementary to said socket projecting from the other end of each bar section; and said bar sections being assembled together with one right-angled end of one bar section in abutment with the other right-angled end of the next adjacent bar section, and with the tongue at one end of one bar section interlocked in the socket in the end of the next adjacent bar section; whereby when one bar section is mounted on a wall With its longitudinally aligned supporting shoulders in level, horizontal position, the aligned supporting shoulders on each remaining assembled bar section are maintained in accurate horizontal alignment with the aligned shoulders of said one bar section; and whereby when the downturned flanges at the tops of a plurality of cabinets are engaged over the hanger bar ears, the cabinets are supported on said aligned supporting shoulders in accurate, horizontal alignment with abutting cabinet side walls at the joints between adjacent cabinets extending through the notches at the ends of adjacent hanger bar sections.

JACQUES STANITZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 661,557 Schwab Nov. 13, 1900 746,269 Beaton Dec. 8, 1903 1,127,596 Crabiel Feb. 9, 1915 1,542,267 Parker June 16, 1925 1,657,939 Rockwell Jan. 31, 1928 1,796,502 Boucher Mar. 17, 1931 2,211,210 Johnson Aug. 13, 1940 2,258,044 Chesney Oct. 7, 1941 2,299,443 Walmsley Oct. 20, 1942 2,361,732 Banneyer Oct. 31, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 69,918 Switzerland Mar. 31, 1914 

